Russian Police Confiscate 22 Bitcoin ATMs in 9 Cities

The BATMs that are installed at stores and restaurants in 9 different cities, was stopped by Russian police.

According to a local media report, The confiscation has been carried out on orders from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Central Bank of Russia. This could be because the operation of crypto teller machines in the country is currently unregulated.

All of the seized terminals are operated by Bbfpro which maintains a network of bitcoin ATMs across the vast country, RBC reported quoting lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan from the Digital Rights Center ( DRC ) who is representing the company’s interests. His organization specializes in providing legal assistance to businesses from the digital industry including crypto and blockchain firms.

Artem Bedarev, who is Bbfpro’s manager, has revealed to local media that he was not informed by the authority prior to this seizure of machines. He said he was told informally that the investigation will continue at least six months and the machines will not be returned before it’s completed.

An officer who participated in the confiscation on Friday said the operation was ordered by the Prosecutor General’s Office following a request from the Central Bank of Russia ( CBR).

An official from the Central Bank of Russia, has refused to give details on the case with Bbfpro’s ATMs but pointed out that the regulator conducts “systematic work to identify and counteract illegal activities in the financial market.”

In addition, the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to media inquiries about the operation too.

Do you think the Bitcoin ATMs seizure by Russian Police is justified ?